


to patch and redress

by Zharena



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Gen, Panic Attacks, Zine: Spark of Hope (Promare), can't do the trio as a gen tag so i gotta tag all three individual relationships like a clown, post-canon introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zharena/pseuds/Zharena
Summary: Lio, Aina, Galo, and the aftermath as they clean up the ruins of Promepolis.
Relationships: Aina Ardebit & Galo Thymos, Aina Ardebit & Lio Fotia, Lio Fotia & Galo Thymos
Comments: 9
Kudos: 44





	to patch and redress

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man, finally getting around to posting my piece from Spark of Hope. Have some fun post-canon introspection.

Aina doesn’t look like her sister unless they’re standing next to each other. That’s when people see the resemblance, when they mention the little things - the sharpness of their cheekbones, the shape of their eyes, the way the dimples in their cheeks show when they smile. On days like today, when she’s scooping rations into paper bowls beneath a poorly ventilated tent, chugging gallons of water just to stay hydrated, she remembers it more than ever.

She’s thankful that most of the former Burnish have no idea who she is, who she’s related to. If they did, maybe they would have second thoughts about accepting her help. Maybe they would even blame her. _They wouldn’t be the only ones,_ she admits, as she hands a portion of stew out to a small child with bandages around their arms. They thank her, their voice barely loud enough for Aina to hear it over the rest of the noise around her, as they pluck it from her hands and dart away.

Lio stands beside her doling out food as well, the sleeves of the oversized t-shirt he borrowed from Galo rolled up over his shoulders. He doesn’t say a word to her as he works, his attention fully focused on helping the former Burnish. Aina knows why, knows he doesn’t fully trust her despite her assistance in helping them save the world. 

She can’t blame him, not after her sister chose to sacrifice the Burnish just to save her. Not after Aina and the rest of Burning Rescue had assisted for so long in their capture, in unknowingly sending so many of them to their deaths. Guilt quakes her entire body every time a new person shows up to her station and she sees something missing - a limb, an eye, a friend, a parent - and after an older woman shows up missing an arm mourning the death of her ten year old son in the experiments, Aina’s hands tremble so hard that she loses her grip on the ladle, dropping it in the stew and splashing the rations everywhere.

Lio’s eyes widen and he’s about to open his mouth when Galo swoops in, wrapping them both in a hug and asking if they’re okay. Reminds, no, _forces_ them to take a break, ushering them off to a cooling station. Aina collapses into a seat at one of the tables in the trailer, going limp as the fatigue sets into her limbs. Lio doesn’t seem to be faring much better - his face is flushed and he’s shivering, still not used to the coolness of the air conditioner. 

Galo reappears a few moments later, juggling several water bottles in his arms and dropping them on the table. Lio seizes one before it rolls off and cracks it open, chugging the contents greedily. 

“Hey, slow down, you’ll make yourself sick if you drink that fast.”

“Don’t care,” Lio says, wiping the liquid off his lip. “I’m parched.”

Aina tunes out the rest of the conversation - she doesn’t have the mental energy right now to pay much attention to anything - and takes one of the bottles for herself, only drinking a quarter of it before she excuses herself to the restroom. She needs a minute away to catch herself, to _breathe._ Before Galo can say anything, she disappears behind the door, closing it softly and clicking the lock into place.

She presses her back against the door and sighs, rubbing her temple, trying to quell her pounding heart. Tries to tell herself that Heris screwed up, that they all had in some way and that some of them messed up worse than others, but they’re trying to make things _right_ now and that’s what matters.

But then she looks in the mirror, sees the same blush pink hair and azure eyes, sees the same look of fear her sister had had that day. Sees Heris, the scientist who had knowingly experimented on innocent people for the sake of saving her sister’s life, and feels the weight of the Burnish’s lives on her as she collapses to the floor, burying her face in her knees as she sobs. 

* * *

Lio hates taking breaks. It makes him feel like he’s lazy, like he’s not doing enough to help the people relying on him. There’s so much to be done for the former Burnish population - more supplies to procure, housing to furnish, identification to obtain, families to reunite, rations for the day to be doled out - that his head is spinning. And for him, well. Who is Lio Fotia if he isn’t helping people?

Galo tells him it isn’t healthy, that it’s not like when he was on the run. That there’s no adrenaline running through his veins and he’s going to burn out eventually. If he does, well, Lio’s decided that he’ll just figure it out then.

Being on the run doesn’t exactly net one great coping skills.

“Aina, open up. Please?”

Lio snaps out of his thoughts. It’s the third time Galo’s knocked on the door, but she still hasn’t responded. Lio stays still, his face unmoving as he listens to her sobbing, trying to keep his own eyes from glazing over. It’s a skill that’s served him well over his time as a leader, one that’s allowed him to maintain composure and focus on what needs to be done during times of high stress.

He rubs his forehead and closes his eyes, thinking of what to do next. He doesn’t know Aina well enough that she would speak openly to him about what’s bothering her. No, their relations are _strained,_ to say the least. It’s not that Lio dislikes Aina; if anything, he’s incredibly thankful to her for helping him and Galo save the world, for working with her sister to stop Kray. He’s still hesitant to fully trust her, though. 

To a certain extent, it’s like that for everyone at Burning Rescue that isn’t named Galo. For Aina, though, there’s a little more trepidation, a little more hesitance. There are special conditions surrounding her, things like not mentioning her last name in the rescue zone so that they won’t hurt the shaky trust that’s only just beginning to form between the former Burnish and Burning Rescue, things like not bringing up Heris at all if they can help it. Inevitably, though, she does come up, in hushed inquiries about how her sister is doing, in memories that starts to reminisce about before she stops herself. 

Lio hates hearing about her, hates everything that Heris did, but he could never hate Aina for caring about her sister. One day, he’ll have that conversation with her; one day, he won’t listen to the part of his brain that associates Aina with so many of the horrific things that have happened.

For now, though he’ll give her some space. 

He walks past Galo and places his ear against the door, knocking softly.

“Aina? It’s Lio. I’m going to leave so you have a little more privacy.” He bites his lip, drumming his fingers against the door. “Come out soon, okay?”

With that, he nods at Galo and leaves, swiping another bottle of water off the table as he exits the trailer. He’s tense now, can feel his nerves buzzing to get back to work, but all he can think about right now is Aina as he makes his way back over to the tent he had been stationed in. _Focus,_ he reminds himself. _Focus on them._

* * *

Eventually, Aina returns to the tent, and they resume working for the remainder of the day. Neither of them bring up what happened in the trailer. By the time they’re done with their shift, they’re exhausted and ready to rest, though Lio refuses to leave. In the end, it takes Galo hoisting him over his shoulder, encouraged by Meis and Gueira, to get him to abandon the tent. Lio pouts at them in betrayal as his former generals cheer Galo on, yelling at Lio to _rest, for once,_ that night.

After few minutes of hanging on Galo, Lio pouts and gives his back a gentle punch.

“Put me down. Now.”

“Are you going to try to go back to work?”

“My work is never done,” Lio says, avoiding the question.

“That may be true, but I’m cutting you off for the night.”

Aina snorts, relief washing over her. It’s the first time she’s laughed all day, and the endorphin release comes much needed. Lio, to her surprise, looks at her and lines his hand up against the side of his mouth, pretending to whisper.

“He can’t stop me, you know,” he tells her. 

“Maybe not, but I can keep you on my shoulder until we get home.”

“Galo!” he yells. “Fine, I won’t work anymore for the night. Just _let me walk."_

“I don’t know if I believe you-” 

A cheeky grin spreads across Galo’s face. Lio grumbles, defeated. 

“I think you can put him down, Galo,” Aina tells him.

“Hmm.” He glances up and appears almost lost in thought, as if Aina’s suggestion carries the same weight as some of the decisions he made on the day he saved the world. “Well, I trust Aina’s judgment. Okay!”

Lio sighs in relief as Galo places him on the floor.

“Thanks for that, Aina. Hope you’re feeling better now.”

To her surprise, Lio smiles at her, a fractal of friendship that Aina had desperately wanted him to extend to her. It gives her peace, a hint that things will turn out okay. 

They settle into a slow walk as they make their way through the ruins of Promepolis, taking in the broken buildings scattered all over the ground like disconnected toy blocks. Galo yawns as they move, his momentum fading as they continue their trek. Aina notices him struggling to keep up and stops a few minutes later, shooting a worried look at him. 

“Do you guys want to sit down for a moment?”

“Yeah,” Galo says. “I’m more tired than I thought.”

“My legs are pretty sore, too,” Lio adds, looking at a waist-high brick wall to their right. “We can sit down over there.”

The three of them flop down on the structure, laying down every which way, their legs hanging off the sides. They talk for a while, losing track of time, getting in some much-needed, as Galo puts it, “real talk,” as the sun sets.

“I just want to make sure you guys are okay,” he explains.

“I know,” Lio says. “How are you, though?”

“Peachy!” 

If Aina didn’t know Galo any better, she would figure that he still had some pep left in him after the end of the day. That he was an endless ray of energy, always finding a way to keep going. Most of the time, that was true. Aina can hear the exhaustion in his voice, though, has seen how his shoulders have started to sag now that they’ve settled into routine care and rebuilding efforts. He’s starting to process things now, too, and when Lio frowns at his response, she can tell that he picks up on it, too.

Galo nods off a few minutes later, exhaustion washing over him.

“Should we wake him up?” Aina asks.

“No, let him rest.” 

“That’s kind of funny, coming from you.”

“Oh believe me, I know.”

Aina bites her lip.

“How has he been?”

“Hanging in there. He doesn’t talk about what happened.” There’s a name left unsaid, but they both know who Lio’s referring to. “I think he’s trying to stay positive for both of us.”

“And when he can’t anymore?”

“We’ll both be here to catch him,” Lio says.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> How does one summarize introspection? The answer is: you don't, you just kind of cry and make vague hand gestures trying to describe what your fic is about.
> 
> Anyway, as always, thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/zharena2). :D


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